Knowledge, attitude and practices of HIV counsellors in HIV counselling and testing in the central region of Ghana

Abstract

This study employed the descriptive survey to assess the knowledge, attitude and practices of HIV counsellors in HIV counselling and testing in the Central Region of Ghana. In all, 140 HIV counsellors from the Central Region were sampled through the use of the purposive sampling procedure. The convenient sampling procedure was adopted to carry out the observation sections. Questionnaires and observation guide were used to collect the necessary data for the study. Descriptive statistics such as frequencies and percentages were used to illustrate the demographic profile of the participants and the data on five of the research questions. The thematic approach was used to analyse the qualitative data. Inferential statistics namely Pearson Product Moment Correlation were used to compare relationship among variables. It was found out that HIV counsellors in the Central Region had a good knowledge on HIV counselling and testing, counsellors have developed a positive attitude towards HIV counselling and testing, the HIV counsellors adhered to good practices in their field of work, to a large extent, most of the respondents adhered to the basic techniques in counselling among others. It was recommended that periodic seminars and workshops must be organised for HIV counsellors, professional counsellors should be employed to solve the problem of shortage of staff. Also, test kits should always be made available at the health facilities at all times and finally, transportation and financial support should be available by the Ministry of Health, Ghana Health Service and National AIDS Control Programme to aid follow ups.